Before Using This Medicine

In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of using the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For factor IX, the following should be considered:

Allergies—Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to injections of factor IX, hamster protein, or mouse protein. Also tell your health care professional if you are allergic to any other substances, such as foods, preservatives, or dyes.

Pregnancy—Studies on effects in pregnancy have not been done in either humans or animals.

Breast-feeding—It is not known whether the ingredients in factor IX products pass into breast milk. Although most medicines pass into breast milk in small amounts, many of them may be used safely while breast-feeding. Mothers who are using this medicine and who wish to breast-feed should discuss this with their doctor.

Children—Blood clots may be especially likely to occur in premature and newborn babies, who are usually more sensitive than adults to the effects of injections of factor IX.

Older adults—This medicine has been tested and has not been shown to cause different side effects or problems in older people than it does in younger adults.

Other medicines—Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. Tell your health care professional if you are using any other prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicine.

Other medical problems—The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of factor IX products. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:

• Blood clots or a history of medical problems caused by blood clots or
• Liver disease—Risk of bleeding or developing blood clots may be increased